Coon and Sweet Potatoes
intro
A hearty traditional Appalachian Southern one-pot meal of slow-braised tender coon with caramelized sweet potatoes, balancing rich savoriness with warm, sweet earthy notes.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep and soak coon
Rinse the 1.8kg dressed young raccoon thoroughly under cold running water, pat dry with paper towels, and carefully trim off all excess fat and waxy scent glands located near the leg joints and along the spine. Cut the coon into 6 equal serving pieces, place in a large non-reactive glass bowl, cover with cold water, stir in 30ml apple cider vinegar and 5g (1 teaspoon) kosher salt, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour to mellow strong gamey flavors.
Season coon pieces
After soaking, drain the coon pieces completely and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Preheat your oven to 165°C (325°F). Mix the remaining 10g (2 teaspoons) kosher salt, 2g black pepper, 1g dried thyme, and 2g smoked paprika in a small ramekin, then rub the spice mixture evenly over every surface of the coon pieces.
Sear the coon
Melt 30g (2 tablespoons) of unsalted butter in a 5.5L heavy cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat (stovetop setting 7/10). Working in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan (which causes steaming instead of searing), sear the coon pieces for 3-4 minutes per side until deep, even golden brown on all surfaces. Transfer seared pieces to a clean plate and set aside.
Build braise base
Reduce stovetop heat to medium (setting 5/10), add the 200g diced yellow onion to the rendered fat and butter in the Dutch oven, and sauté for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the 15g minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, then pour in 480ml low-sodium chicken broth, using a wooden spoon to scrape all browned fond bits from the bottom of the pot to incorporate flavor.
Slow braise coon
Return the seared coon pieces to the Dutch oven, nestling them into the broth so they are half-submerged. Bring the liquid to a gentle, low simmer, then cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the preheated 165°C (325°F) oven. Braise for 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meat is nearly fork-tender and pulls slightly from the bone.
Add sweet potatoes and finish
Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven, take off the lid, and add the 900g 5cm-cut sweet potato chunks. Drizzle with 30ml maple syrup and dot with the remaining 15g (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, stirring gently to coat the sweet potatoes in braising liquid. Replace the lid, return the pot to the oven, and cook for an additional 30 minutes, until sweet potatoes are fork-soft and the coon meat pulls easily away from the bone.
Tips
2.Choose a young raccoon (under 1 year old, 1.5-2kg dressed weight) for the mildest, most tender meat; older, larger raccoons have tough, strongly flavored meat that requires 2-3 extra hours of soaking and braising.
3.Avoid crowding the pan when searing the coon pieces—overcrowding causes steaming instead of deep, flavorful browning that forms the rich base of the braise.
OMG y’all, I made this for our Sunday family dinner last weekend and even my super picky grandpa who’s been making coon and sweet potatoes since he was a teen said it was better than his! The cook time was totally worth it, the meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and the sweet potatoes caramelized so perfectly. SO good, will be making this every fall from now on!
Great recipe overall! I prepped this on Sunday for the week’s lunches and it reheats beautifully. The only tweak I made was adding a pinch of cayenne to the sweet potatoes for a little kick, which cut the richness perfectly. Would be 5 stars if there was a note about how to adjust cook time for smaller cuts of meat!
Brought this to our annual hunting camp potluck and people went back for thirds! Total game changer, I was worried people would be weird about trying coon but once they smelled it cooking they were lined up. The sweet potatoes balance the savoriness of the meat so well, no weird gamey aftertaste at all. 10/10
This was my first time ever cooking raccoon, so I was pretty nervous going in. I followed the recipe exactly but my meat came out a little tougher than I expected? The sweet potatoes were amazing though, my kids loved that part at least. Wondering if my oven temp was off?
I’ve been making versions of this recipe for 40+ years and this take is easily top tier. The trick of scoring the coon skin and rubbing the spice mix under it? Genius, it gets so much more flavor into every bite. Served it with a side of collards and it was the perfect comfort food meal.
My wife and I have been trying to cook more wild game to cut down on grocery costs, and this recipe is a new household staple. All three of my kids cleaned their plates, no complaints, which is basically a miracle on a school night. The 2+ hour cook time looks long but most of it is hands off, so I was able to help with homework while it roasted.
So happy this recipe is naturally gluten free! I’ve been searching for a good wild game recipe that I can serve to my whole friend group without having to make substitutions, and this checks every box. The caramelized sweet potatoes don’t even need extra brown sugar, they get so sweet from roasting low and slow with the meat drippings. Can’t wait to serve it at our fall bonfire next weekend!
Really solid recipe! I swapped the regular sweet potatoes for purple sweet potatoes I got at the farmers market just for fun, and it looked so pretty on the plate. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is I wish it had a recommended side dish list to round out the meal.
Just pulled this out of the oven and WOW, the smell alone is worth every minute of prep. I used a young coon I trapped last week, brined it for 12 hours like the recipe said, and it’s so tender I barely need a knife to cut it. Already texted the recipe to all my hunting buddies, this is going to be in regular rotation all hunting season long.
Wait, quick question before I start—can I make this in a slow cooker instead of the oven? I don’t have a big enough roasting pan with a lid, and my 6-quart slow cooker fits the cut of coon I have perfectly.